As it turns out, the Big Ten was not the only league to compromise on terms of the four-team playoff that the BCS presidential oversight committee could approve formally Tuesday night.

The SEC and Big 12 both wanted the semifinals to be played outside the bowl system, according to a source from the BCS meetings.

Bidding out all three games -- the semifinals and championship -- would have maximized revenue but relegated bowl games, to use a basketball analogy, to NIT status.

The Big Ten wanted to protect the Rose Bowl, which likely will have a semifinal game every third year. The Pac-12 and ACC also didn't want to adopt a system that felt so corporate and could be easier to lead to an eight-team playoff.

The source was optimistic that the committee of university leaders, including Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman, would approve the four-team seeded model and perhaps the formation of a 15-member selection committee at its meeting that is expected to conclude Tuesday night in Washington, D.C.

The length of the deal is expected to be 12 years, mirroring a Big Ten/Pac-12 extension with the Rose Bowl that could be announced by the end of the week.

Perhaps of most significance is that the Rose Bowl will lock in its coveted 4 p.m. Central time slot.

The expectation with the new playoff, set to begin in 2014, is that six bowls will form a rotation with two having semifinal games each year. The six will include the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta with the new Champions Bowl, the Cotton and Capital One among those in contention for the other two spots.

The selection committee could play a role in creating matchups for several of the games. The Rose, meanwhile, would take the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions unless they're in the playoff.

The semifinal playoff games could take place Jan. 1 or in prime time Dec. 30 or Dec. 31, depending on which bowls are hosting.

The title game -- a.k.a the Super Bowl of college football -- would be played seven to 10 days later at a neutral site.